KRLemmons African American Authors, African American Literature, African American Young Adult Literature, Lesson Plans, Multicultural Nonfiction, Resources

March 13 Woman of the Day: Harriet A. Jacobs

Harriet A. Jacobs, born in 1813, was one of the first African American women to publish an autobiography.  Her autobiography, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, told how she struggled to avoid the sexual advances of her master.  More information about this courageous woman can be found here:

More resources on Harriet A. Jacobs:

Yale University: http://www.yale.edu/glc/harriet/                                                                              PBS: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2923.html                                                                                                                                                      NPR: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1869987

Middle School lesson plan: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/slavery/teachers/lesson3.html

Teacher’s Guide: http://www.us.penguingroup.com/static/pdf/teachersguides/IncidentsSlaveGirlTG.pdf

Annenberg Learner: http://www.learner.org/amerpass/unit07/authors-7.html

KRLemmons African American Authors, African American Literature, African American Young Adult Literature, Children's literature, Resources

March 12 Woman of the Day: Virginia Hamilton

March 12 Woman of the Day is Virginia Hamilton, an award winning children’s and young adult’s author, who was born on this day in 1936.  Information about this amazing author can be found by clicking here:

Additional resources:                                                                                                  Biography.com: http://www.biography.com/people/virginia-hamilton-21106647    Scholastic.com: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/contributor/virginia-hamilton Audio from Open Road Media: http://video.openroadmedia.com/UTq3/meet-virginia-hamilton/

TeachingBooks.net: http://www.teachingbooks.net/tb.cgi?aid=444&a=1

KRLemmons African American Young Adult Literature

Interview: Crystal Chan

Edith's avatarCotton Quilts Edi

Crystal Chan debuted in January with Bird. I caught up with Crystal a few weeks ago and she was gracious enough to give me some time for an interview. While I hadn’t read Bird at the time of the interview, I have completed and reviewed it.

This summary appeared on Amazon.

Gr 4–6—Jewel never met her brother. On the day she was born, he tried to fly off a cliff and died. Her Bird-coverparents believe that Grandpa’s nickname for his grandson, Bird, caused a bad spirit, a duppy, to trick the boy into believing he could fly. Twelve years later, Grandpa has still not spoken a word and Jewel is fed up with her moody parents and unloving household. She meets a boy who calls himself John, her brother’s real name. They share their hopes and dreams and Jewel opens up about visiting the cliff to bury her worries as…

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KRLemmons African American Authors, African American Literature, African American Young Adult Literature, Lesson Plans, Resources

Happy Birthday Ralph Waldo Ellison!

Ralph Waldo Ellison, the author of the classic book Invisible Man was born on March 1.  Information on this author can be found by clicking on the following links:

Library of Congress. Type Ralph Ellison in the search box and view hundreds of primary resources on this author at http://loc.gov

PBS: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/ralph-ellison/an-american-journey/587/

NPR: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9977702

Lesson plans/activities on Invisible Man

Random House: http://www.randomhouse.com/highschool/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780679732761&view=tg

PBS: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/lessons_plans/ralph-ellisons-invisible-man/ 

Ms. Effie’s LifeSavers for Teachers: http://mseffie.com/AP/Invisible%20Man.pdf